69th anniversary of D-day landings

Remy de la Mauviniere / Associated Press

A wreath on the grave of Sgt. Edward M. Withers from Wisconsin during commemorations of the 69th anniversary of the D-day landings, at the Colleville American military cemetery, in Colleville sur Mer, France.

A wreath on the grave of Sgt. Edward M. Withers from Wisconsin during commemorations of the 69th anniversary of the D-day landings, at the Colleville American military cemetery, in Colleville sur Mer, France. (Remy de la Mauviniere / Associated Press)

Normandy veteran Eric Gibbons, 90, looks at the headstones of fallen comrades at a remembrance and wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the start of the D-day landings at Bayeux War Cemetery in Bayeux, France.

Normandy veteran Eric Gibbons, 90, looks at the headstones of fallen comrades at a remembrance and wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate the start of the D-day landings at Bayeux War Cemetery in Bayeux, France. (Matt Cardy / Getty Images)

Across Normandy, France, several hundred of the surviving veterans of the Overlord campaign are gathering to commemorate the 69th anniversary of the D-day landings which eventually led to the Allied liberation of France in 1944. Next year, which will mark the 70th anniversary of the landings, is widely expected to be the last time that the veterans will gather in any great number.